This is what I refer to as a "nudge" . . . a sudden thought that seems to come out of no where that guides you in a particular moment. It could be a thought to do something or say something or maybe it is to NOT do something. You can call them anything you'd like. (a gut instinct? a random inspiration? etc.) What is more important to me is that we pay attention when these feelings or knowing come to us out of the blue.
I happen to believe we are constantly being assisted / guided through these nudges. I don't know exactly who is guiding us or giving us what I refer to as "nudges" . . . Do we have angels? I don't know for sure so I tend to just refer to the who as "The Universe" or an "Inner-knowing."
Admitting this may make me "woo woo" in some people's book, which is fine. We are all entitled to believe what we want, right? The purpose of this blog is to shine the light on this topic so that you might be more likely to notice if/when you get your own nudges.
Over the years, I have learned that any time I received and followed a nudge, I was really glad that I did. Additionally, I have found that it is important to trust them and follow through on them, even when I don't know why I got the nudge in the first place.
Sometimes if we are lucky, we get immediate feedback on why we got the nudge. Sometimes a lot of time passes before we understand why we felt inspired to do something. And yet there are times where we never know. For me, what is more important is to trust there is a reason - whether we know what that reason is or not.
Maybe you've felt a nudge to leave the house earlier or later, to take a different route or just stay still for a few minutes. Maybe it was a nudge to ask a niece or nephew how they were doing or the random thought to leave a party and get home.
As an example: Have you ever felt like you should take a pause before proceeding when you get a green light - and then a second later you see someone running the red light and realize they would have collided with you if you had already started driving?
Or have you ever felt nudged to give a stranger a compliment or had a feeling that you should reach out to someone you had lost touch with? I believe that all of these things are examples of the guidance we receive.
The past few years, I have had a lot of these experiences that showed up in big and small ways. One time, it was a nudge to walk over to the older gentleman who I saw walking around the parking lot as I was leaving the grocery store to see if the needed help (and he did need help because he couldn't remember where he had parked his car so together we were able to find it and he really appreciated the help). Another time, it was a nudge to get an old group of friends together, not knowing that one of the people had been diagnosed with inoperable cancer and wouldn't be around much longer.
Just last fall, I felt another nudge to write a letter to someone from high school. He was my boyfriend's best friend over 40 years ago and the boyfriend of one of my best friends. Out of the blue old memories of him were popping into my mind. Not in a "ooh, I wonder if we are meant to be together" sort of way - LOL - it felt more like a "reach out and let him know how much you appreciated his kindness and how grateful you are that he was so protective of you when you really needed to have someone stand up for you."
I was resistant at first. Not wanting to come across as a dork, I was sure he would think I had reached a new level of weird when he got the letter but the nudge wouldn't go away so I did it. It was actually pretty easy to write the letter once I got started because I truly did appreciate him and the way he treated me all those years ago so the words just flowed from my heart onto the page. I delivered the letter, he was gracious and thanked me and then that was it. Did I kind of still feel like a dork? Yes I did. :-) But I also trusted there had to be a reason for it.
Just a few weeks ago, I received the sad news that this friend had passed away. Of course my first reaction was shock and sadness. My second reaction was gratitude that I had followed the nudge. At least he knew how much I appreciated him. I didn't have to wish I could have talked to him one more time because I had already shared from my heart how grateful I was for the way he treated me.
Our nudges don't always lead to something so dramatic and so sad - often times they are quiet little bits of encouragement that make life a little bit easier, put a smile on our faces or in our hearts or do that for someone else.
I have found that the more we notice these nudges, the more often they come. (or maybe the more often we benefit from what we had previously not seen.) All I know is that I feel grateful every time I receive and follow through on one. Maybe you feel the same way.
If you feel like sharing an example of a nudge you received and how you responded, I would love to hear it and I bet others would too.
